Monday, September 29, 2008

This week, we celebrated the transformed lives of five girls in both the Nashville and St. Louis homes. We are so excited to share these incredible stories of freedom and transformation with all of you.

Caitlin’s Story:

Before I came to Mercy, my life was out of control. I was caught in a vicious cycle and could not seem to get out. Although I knew the truth, I was not following the Lord. I was living for myself and continued to believe the lies that Satan had put in my head. I eventually became pregnant and felt there was no hope for my future. I heard about Mercy Ministries from a graduate of the program before. I felt it was my best option, so I decided to apply.

Since I came to Mercy, I have been completely freed from a life of bondage, shame and loneliness. I now know that I have authority in Christ and I choose to walk in it. I can finally say that I have a real relationship with Christ! He guided me and gave me peace when deciding to place my twin babies with an adoptive family. Even though giving my babies up for adoption was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, it actually saved my life.

After Mercy, I am going to allow myself to be led by God. I am going to come back to Nashville after spending a month at home. I’d love to come back and work at a coffee shop. I want other girls to know that there is a hope…Mercy saved my life!

Kris’s Story:

For a long time, I lived a life that was filled with self-destructive behaviors. I was enslaved to an eating disorder, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. All of this stemmed from sexual abuse that had occurred throughout my life. I wanted to live, but I didn’t know how. I buried myself in my issues so that I would not have to face God. I even went so far as to involve myself in witchcraft. I became tired and weary of living with these harmful addictions. I could no longer take all of the wounded emotions I carried from abuse, I was done. I had no life. I remembered that I came across Mercy Ministries on the internet at some point—and decided this was my last attempt at life.

During my time at Mercy, I have become a daughter of the living God. He has completely freed me from any addiction, memories of abuse, self-harm and has given me a will and hope to live. Mercy Ministries helped me see that God does not want to harm me but that He loves me and wants me to truly live!

After Mercy I am not entirely sure what I want to do. What I do know is that I want to help others and let my restored life be an example to those that are struggling.

Jordan’s Story:

When I was growing up, I never really had any positive example to model myself after. I was surrounded by a lot of negativity and very critical people. Because of this, I never really learned how to express myself properly. This led me to bulimia and self-harm, and ultimately I became very depressed. I had no idea what to do. I finally stumbled upon Mercy Ministries while on the internet one day and I made the choice to apply.

Because I came to Mercy, I have been completely restored. God has given me a confidence that I never thought I could have. I know that He loves me for who I am. He has shown me that He has a future prepared for me and I have now chosen to step into it!

Once I leave Mercy, I am going to continue to finish my schooling and graduate from high school. After that, I am going to follow wherever God leads me. It is a dream of mine to eventually have a family and pursue writing. I am so glad that I will now be able to look forward to these things because I came to Mercy and let God work in my life.

Chelsea’s Story:

Before I came to Mercy, I was dealing with major depression. I was bound by an eating disorder, self-harm, sexual sin, and pornography. All this was stemming from the trauma related to sexual abuse that I had suffered. I was completely lost. The counselor that I was seeing back home had heard of Mercy through a colleague. She gave me the application and I applied.

While I have been at Mercy, God has given me my life back. I did not want to live when I came to Mercy but now I have hope, and I am excited to live. I have found freedom from all the addictions, guilt, and shame. I have freedom in Christ who loves me everlastingly and unconditionally. I am truly a new person. I no longer identify with my issues, but with Christ. I have a new found confidence because I see myself as a child of God—His princess–and He has great plans for me. He loves me and values me.

After I leave Mercy, I am going to return home and be very involved at my church. I would like to get back into childcare and get married someday.

Sylvia’s Story:

I was in complete bondage before I came to Mercy because I allowed an eating disorder to take over my life. I would often think of dying. Although I would never actually try to kill myself, I would put myself in dangerous situations in hopes that I might die. I knew that I was in serious need of help and was at the end of my rope. Counseling programs that I had tried were not working. I heard about Mercy through a friend and I felt that this was God’s answer for my healing.

God has helped me renew my mind during my time at Mercy. I have learned that if I renew my mind, my actions will be different. God does love me, He is for me, I have value and can trust Him. Unless I believe and receive this by faith, I will not be able to live like its true. I know that God’s ways are good and I need to walk by faith, not by sight—I need to stay in His Word and follow His ways.

After I leave Mercy, I am going to work on saving some money so that I can go to school. Eventually, I would like to work with children through Child Evangelism Fellowship.

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MercyTalk Podcasts with Nancy Alcorn

Have you heard? We launched our new podcast series: “MercyTalk with Nancy Alcorn” at MercyTalk.org (also www.MercyMinistries.com/MercyTalk). Each thirty-minute podcast is hosted by Mercy Ministries Founder and President, Nancy Alcorn, who offers real hope for today’s difficult, real-life issues. New podcasts are posted every Thursday. Listen at www.mercytalk.org.

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